The devil's nature
by Sassniss
Summary: After waking up in the street finding that there is something wrong with him Matt is driven to insanity as he goes in search of who created a t-shirt which he believes exposes his identity. Foggy, Claire and Karen try desperately to help him as his life as Daredevil and his mind spiral out of control. Set about 6 months after season 2.
1. Chapter 1

When Matt woke up he found himself lying on a street corner somewhere in the middle of Hell's Kitchen he guessed. His sensed that his billy club was lying a few feet away from him. When he slowly sat up he felt a stabbing pain in the back of his head. He also felt a bit lightheaded. Was he drunk? With a groan Matt reached for his billy club and he stood up. He walked about five steps before he started feeling dizzy again. He clutched a nearby wall with one hand for support as he tried to regain his balance.

"What happened to me?" He thought to himself as he began to hear the familiar sounds of the city in his own unique way but they sounded distorted. It was like something wasn't quite right. He continued to walk trying to work out where his apartment was so that he could go home and find out what was going on with him. He came across a young woman who was standing at the side of the street and decided to ask her where he was. Her heartbeat suggested to Matt that she seemed nice enough.

"Hey excuse me I don't mean to bother you but is this Hell's Kitchen?" Matt asked her. The change in her heartbeat suggested that she recognised him which was a good sign.

"Yeah this is Hell's Kitchen." She replied. Her heartbeat sounded excited again. "aren't you Daredevil?"

"That's me." Matt said in an upbeat voice despite feeling like crap.

"This is so cool." The woman said happily. "I have never met a superhero before or one of your kind."

"Well you have now." Matt said as he smiled. "I have to go now but you take care."

"I will." She replied firmly and he could sense her hand moving like she could be waving at him as he walked away from her. "Bye Daredevil."

"Bye and thanks." Matt called back and as soon as he stopped talking to her he felt a wave of dizziness wash over him again. He really needed to find his apartment and fast. At least he knew he was in the right place.

He must have been walking around aimlessly for about an hour before he finally reached where his apartment was. He had tried not to draw too much attention to himself even though he did to that young woman but it was hard not to when you are wearing a devil costume. He could hear people yelling at him some friendly and some not so friendly but he ignored them.

He opened the door to his apartment and he went to the fridge. If he was drunk he might as well try and eat something so that there's more than just alcohol in his system. There was hardly anything to eat apart from a ham sandwich. He supposed that would have to do.

After he finished his sandwich he felt weird again but this time it wasn't dizziness. In fact he suddenly felt full of energy. The way he felt during a battle.

"What the hell?" Matt muttered. "I was feeling awful earlier and now I feel like i'm on a high."

This feeling started to consume him and he felt like he needed to go back out and punch something. Anyone. He had to stop himself.

Realising that there was something really wrong with him he called Foggy.

"Foggy I think there's something wrong with me." Matt stated after Foggy answered him.

"There must be if you are phoning me at 2am." Foggy replied sounding like he was tired. "I nearly thought it was a call saying you were lying dead somewhere."

"I think I might be soon." Matt said with a sigh.

"Wait what?" Foggy sounded worried. "Matt what's wrong with you?"

"I think something has happened to me tonight. I don't remember what happened to me but something did." Matt explained. "I woke up lying in a street corner and I felt very lighthearted and everything sounded distorted. I managed to find my way home. I ate some food and now I feel like i'm on an adrenaline rush."

"Uh that doesn't sound good." Foggy said sounding even more worried. "I'm going to come and see you tomorrow morning okay? try and get some rest Matt."

"Okay." Matt replied. He went to go to bed but he suddenly heard the sound of someone screaming a few blocks away. Usually he would know when to ignore these because if he answered to these cries of help all the time he would go insane. However with this new energy flowing through him he couldn't control himself. He suddenly felt very angry and his head felt like it was about to burst open. Before he knew what he was doing he opened the door and went back outside.


	2. Chapter 2

Matt followed the sound of the screaming voice until he picked up two heartbeats. He quickly worked out which one was the villain and which one was the victim in this scenario. As soon as the time was right he stood out from the shadows from where he was hiding. He grabbed the 'villain' and punched him in the face.

"Woah what the hell man?" the 'villain' yelled in protest but Matt just ignored him. He pinned him to the wall and continued punching him until the man started spluttering and blood dripped from his nose.

"He still has my t-shirt!" The other man who was the 'victim' exclaimed.

Matt continued his tight hold on the man and whispered in his ear menacingly. "Give him his t-shirt back and then leave. If you don't I will do so much worse to you and you will wish you had."

When Matt let go of him he gave the other man his t-shirt back and then he walked away muttering about his broken nose.

"Thank you." The man who was left said graciously to Matt. "I always knew you would save me if I got into trouble Daredevil."

"No problem." Matt replied. He then thought about leaving. He still had this strange angry feeling inside him. He knew he should go back home before he did something he regretted.

"Do you know that you are on the t-shirt?" The man suddenly asked. Matt stopped walking.

"What do you mean?" Matt asked him as he walked back towards the man.

"I'll show you." The man replied and he sounded happy. He handed Matt the t-shirt and he began to feel it with his hands. He frowned as his head began to feel weird again. When Matt had felt all the letters he shook his head in disbelief and his fists clenched in a rage.

The t-shirt said "Matt Murdock is Daredevil."

Someone he hadn't told had found out who he was. They were exposing him.

The little bit of control that Matt still had on himself then vanished completely. He grabbed the once innocent man and shoved him against the wall.

"WHERE DID YOU GET THIS?" Matt shouted at him in a voice that sounded so insane he didn't even recognise it as his.

"I-I bought it at the convenience store a few blocks from here." The man replied shakily. "I don't get why you are so worked u-"

"You should be ashamed of yourself for buying it." Matt said darkly.

"I-it's just a t-shirt I don't g-get why you are making such a b-big deal about it." The man said in an even shakier voice. Matt could tell that he was about to wet himself but he quite frankly didn't care.

"Buying a top which exposes someone's identity! Do you think that's funny?" Matt questioned as he began to twist the man's wrists. "Do you think buying that makes you seem clever or something?"

"I-I don't know what you are talking about." The man stuttered. "B-but can you please stop you are making me really s-scared."

Matt stopped for a minute. No. This wasn't right. He shouldn't be trying to hurt this man. Even if he did buy that t-shirt he didn't deserve what he was doing to him.

Or did he?

He gave the man a hard shove and he landed on the ground. The man groaned but then he sighed in relief.

Matt felt rage burning inside him like a fire as he turned and walked towards the local convenience store. He had to find out who had done this to him.


	3. Chapter 3

When Matt got to the local convenience store however he didn't hear the heartbeats of anyone inside and he remembered that it would be about 3amnow. He would have to go back tomorrow night. His rage was still present but it wasn't as prominent as it was before. As he had seemed to calm down a bit knowing he would have to wait he realised this new feeling he had scared him. What if he gets out of control and he doesn't know how to stop himself? Matt felt uncertain about himself now and it wasn't a good feeling. He couldn't promise himself that the heavy rage which had completely consumed him wouldn't come back tomorrow.

He found that when he finally got back to his apartment and got into bed he couldn't sleep. It usually took him a good fifteen minutes to even concentrate on sleeping because of his senses but now he couldn't sleep at all. He was obsessed with finding out who had exposed him. As he lay awake he thought of everyone who knew he was Daredevil. Karen, Foggy, Elektra, Claire, possibly Fisk. For some reason his mind tugged at the name Fisk but it wasn't because of that. His mind seemed to have some memory of him he couldn't pull to the surface.

"Maybe Fisk had something to do with what happened to me tonight?" Matt thought. "It would be helpful if I could remember."

At 7am Matt heard a knock on the door when he was getting dressed. When he put some pants on he went to the door and opened it.

"Good morning." Foggy said sounding a little too cheerful for the situation. "Damn Matt you really need to put on something over your abs."

Matt chuckled as he realised he didn't have a top on. "I usually walk around the house like this."

"Why? god Matthew and people think i'm weird." Foggy said light heartedly. Matt could then sense his face had hardened and became serious. "You didn't sound okay on the phone last night did you?"

Matt sighed and sat down on the couch. Foggy sat down next to him.

"No Foggy I feel awful. When you hung up I was going to bed but I heard someone scream. I usually ignore some of these calls but something came over me. Like real anger. And I went outside to take care of it." Matt started to say.

Foggy didn't say anything as he seemed to want Matt to continue.

"I let's just say took care of the guy who was bothering this other guy. And this other guy wanted me to look at his t-shirt that I rescued from the guy who was bothering him. You know what it said on it? 'Matt Murdock is Daredevil.'" Matt continued as he felt that rage again but only a little bit.

"Oh jesus." Foggy said quietly. He seemed shocked.

"I know. But instead of handling it like a normal human being I flipped and nearly hurt the guy who was still an innocent citizen. I mean I should have been mad at him because he did an unjust thing by buying that t-shirt but the way I reacted." Matt shook his head. "It scared the shit out of me."

"Are you sure you weren't just acting as your usual crazy self?" Foggy said trying to reassure him. "And you weren't thinking straight anyway because you found out about the t-shirt."

"No it didn't feel right." Matt said quietly. "Yes it's true I wasn't thinking straight but I felt so angry. I had the intent of doing the same thing to the staff of the local convenience store where the t-shirt came from. And I don't think I can stop myself from doing it again tonight."

"Maybe you should go to Claire." Foggy suggested. "I mean she's a more physical nurse but she could see if she could help."

"Claire quit her job remember?" Matt replied. "And even though I know she could still help with her nurse skills she wouldn't be able to help with this."

"That's true." Foggy sighed. "Maybe it will go away whatever this is."

"But what if it gets worse?" Matt whispered. "You know what i'm like when I don't want anyone to help me."

"Just stay at home for a few days." Foggy said. "It's all I can suggest."

Matt sighed again. "I can't. I have to go to the convenience store tonight."

"Matt that's a bad idea." Foggy argued. "You said it yourself that you might end up acting the same way tonight and you have no control over it. What if it does get worse?"

"I have to risk it." Matt said stubbornly. It was now Foggy's turn to sigh.

"You are a hard man to persuade Murdock. Just please try not to do anything stupid okay? uncharacteristically stupid." Foggy said to him firmly as he walked over to the door.

He left. Matt still sat on his couch and he began to wait for nightfall.

When Matt took his first step into the local convenience store he could hear about 5 heartbeats. He heard his own breath shuddering as this strange feeling of horrible rage washed over him. He realised briefly with a faint horror that he had no self-control over the dark lengths he was willing to go to get answers.


	4. Chapter 4

Matt wasted no further time and he began to walk around the convenience store like a predator hunting for prey. He grabbed the first person he came across. Her heartbeat sounded startled and scared. However Matt still held his grip on her and he spoke.

"Where are the t-shirts?" He whispered in her ear and began to grab her tighter when she hesitated.

"I-i'm not sure." The girl stuttered. "What t-shirts are you talking about?"

"The t-shirts that say 'Matt Murdock is Daredevil.' where are they?" Matt demanded and he still wouldn't let her go. Not until she gave him answers. She was trying to break free from his grip.

"I-i don't know w-what you are t-t-talking about." The girl continued stumbling over her words. Matt had this dark urge to punch her. He had to fight this.

"Please just tell me what you know. Don't let me do something I will regret." Matt said to her in a threatening voice both directed at her and himself. He raised his arm.

"I'm just new here. This is my first job. I hardly know anything about this place." The girl explained still shakily. "I swear I have never seen these t-shirts and if I did I would have told you."

This should have stopped Matt. She was telling the truth. He sensed that she was young. She was still either in high school or just graduated. Plus he didn't hurt woman. But somehow this didn't stop him at all.

Before he knew what he was doing Matt's arm swung and his hand crashed into her face. The impact caused blood to spurt out of her nose.

Both him and the girl were equally shocked at what just happened.

"I'm so sorry I don't know what's been wrong with me lately." Matt tried to explain in a sincere tone but it just came out rushed and confused.

"You're an asshole." The girl said in a stone cold voice. She had pulled a part of her top over her nose to try and stop the bleeding.

Matt tried to hug her. The girl immediately recoiled away from him in disgust.

"Stay away from me." she snapped and ran out of the building. Matt felt horrible for another brief moment before the angry feeling washed over him again. He then didn't mind what he had to do to others again. Just as long as he would receive answers.

Matt questioned the other four members of staff in the building. He ended up throwing punches against their faces that he couldn't stop himself doing. He didn't even bother to apologise this time.

"Where is your manager?" Matt hissed at his last victim. He was pulling one of their arms back so far that if he moved it further it would snap off. The person was yelling in pain.

"H-he's in the back room. There's a door near the back of the store." The person replied hysterically as the pain was washing over him.

Matt knew he was telling the truth. He let go of his arm as some last urge of sanity stopped him from snapping it. However it couldn't stop him from punching his face.

Matt moved slowly away from him and he made his way towards the back of the shop. He cocked his head to the side next to the door. There was definitely someone in there. He seemed to be singing.

Matt knew this was it. He kicked down the door and seized the man in his grasp before he had time to react.

"Why did you do this?" Matt said to him in a dark tone.

"Why did I do what?" The man despite being held by him said in a normal unaffected voice.

Matt grunted and spat at him.

"The t-shirts." Matt replied in the same tone. "The Daredevil ones. I want to know why you exposed me asshole."

"I don't know what you mean by exposing but I was just told to put those t-shirts in the shop." The man explained cautiously.

"Who told you?" Matt demanded.

"Another manager. I am only one manager in a chain of convenience stores in New York." The man went on. "This is the Hell's Kitchen store. I was told by the manager in Chinatown to put these t-shirts in my store. I am not your asshole."

Matt took a minute to realise what was saying. He then released the guy who told him to get the hell out of his shop.

He would have to go to the Convenience store in Chinatown tomorrow night.


	5. Chapter 5

Matt had to get the bus to Chinatown the following night. He wore his normal lawyer clothes with his tinted red glasses and he had put his red Daredevil outfit and billy club in a bag. He planned to get dropped off near the public toilets he had discovered were near the convenience store to get changed in. He despised New York public toilets as his super senses enhanced the unpleasant smell that usually lingered in them but there was no other option. He managed to pay money to the bus driver and he sat down in the nearest seat. However his anxiety levels started to rise when the bus stopped and more people got on. He hid his bag behind his back as paranoia was starting to wash over him. How many people now knew that he was Daredevil? in a panic Matt searched their heartbeats to see if there was any recognition. Any at all that would mean they would come over to him and call him Daredevil and his secret identity would be officially ruined forever. He did this every time new people came on the bus and he breathed a sigh of relief when the heartbeats at the last bus stop before he would have to get off showed no sign of recognition towards him at all. To them he was just a random blind man. None had bought the t-shirts yet. Matt got changed in the public toilets and he tried not to puke as the horrible smell filled his nostrils about ten times more effectively than it would to a normal person. He then reemerged as Daredevil and went to the local convenience store.

Sadly the Chinatown convenience store didn't give him any new answers. He was simply told by the manager that he was told to put the t-shirts up by another manager and so the hunt went on.

He went to the Midtown convenience store the next night. The Midtown South convenience store the following night. Then Harlem. Then East Harlem. He got into a routine of going on the bus while checking people's heartbeats to see if anyone recognised him, changing in any public toilets he could find, heading to the convenience store and then raising hell on everyone inside. He used his methods of trying to get answers out of the staff which scarily now didn't affect Matt even though some of them were also young woman. The feeling of rage was strongly present within him once again and had taken hold inside his mind. Preventing him from having any control over what he was doing. He should have been exhausted but infuriation with a mix of unsatifaction kept him awake at night. He lay on his bed and he wondered how many more people will soon own the t-shirts. How stopping this person outweighed anything else.

He finally got the answers he had been looking for when he went to the Tribeca convenience store. By this point he was desperate for anything.

"WHY DID YOU EXPOSE ME?" he yelled at the manager who he had been repeatedly punching in the face. Blood was running from his nose onto the floor and Matt's hands were covered in it.

The manager coughed and then spoke. "I don't know what the hell you are talking about."

This just made Matt even more infuriated. He pinned the man against the wall.

"If you don't give me an answer right now I swear I will break a bone." Matt threatened as he could smell the sweat reeking from his body.

"Okay okay." The manager gave in. "I still don't know what you mean by exposing but this convenience store was the first one to sell the t-shirts. If you want to take this matter up with the owner be all means do so. Please just let me go."

Matt didn't let go. "I need a name." He whispered into his ear.

"Harry Evans." The manager replied. Matt then let him go and left the convenience store like a dark shadow.

Finally he had some answers. This was the man who had exposed him and he was going to make him pay.


	6. Chapter 6

Matt had just put his Daredevil suit on and was about to go out and face the man who had exposed him when he heard a knock at the door.

"You've got to be kidding me." Matt thought sighing to himself. He went over to the door and opened it. It was Foggy.

"Matthew are you crazy?" Foggy yelled at him as soon as he got inside the apartment.

Matt was confused. "What do you mean Foggy?"

"You need to stop this." Foggy took a deep breath. "Whatever this sadistic nonsense is that you are doing. It needs to stop."

Matt felt his expression harden. "Foggy I know you don't approve of my methods but I have to."

"This isn't just your usual methods anymore!" Foggy started to yell at him again. "You are going after innocent people who have done nothing wrong! What is the matter with you man?"

"They aren't totally innocent. They did have a role in this. They worked there." Matt said coldly.

"What the hell this isn't like you at all." Foggy muttered and then he said in a tone just as cold as Matt's. "I didn't think punching young woman was your style."

Matt felt a twinge in his chest as the memory of the first young woman he had encountered when he started going through the convenience stores came flashing through his mind. He had hurt her. But then it went away and he felt as angry as ever. "They still played a part in this."

"In what? Matt you don't even make any sense anymore." Matt could sense Foggy shaking his head at him. "I'm going to get you some kind of help."

This statement seemed to light the fire of anger that was still coursing through him. "I don't need your help. I'm going to find the man who made these t-shirts and exposed me and then everything will be fine."

"Matt listen to me." Foggy said in a steady voice. "The t-shirt does not say 'Matt Murdock is Daredevil.'"

Matt couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"If you listened to my heartbeat then you would know I was telling the truth." Foggy continued.

Matt took a step closer to him.

"You need help Matt. We discussed that there was something wrong with you yeah? Well I think there is. We can help you. Me and Claire and Karen. We can help you okay?" Foggy said with the deepest concern in his voice.

Matt didn't listen. He kept walking up to Foggy until they were only one inch apart. He brought his head down so he was facing him.

"Matt." Foggy said quietly.

He didn't move.

"Matt you're scaring me." Foggy whispered.

Matt then suddenly screamed something that was incomprehensible and he brought his arm out. He was about to crash his fist against Foggy's face.

"MATT STOP!" Foggy shouted hysterically and he moved out of the way before Matt could hit him. The impact of this seemed to knock Matt out of whatever spell he was in.

"Oh god." Matt started to shake. "I'm so sorry."

"I think you need to lie down for a little while." Foggy said slowly.

As he went for the door Matt spoke again still shakily. "I'm so sorry Foggy. I don't understand why you are saying lies about the t-shirts but I shouldn't have tried to hit you."

Foggy didn't reply.

When Matt heard the door swing firmly shut he began to question his sanity. He realised that he was getting worse. Maybe he did need help. But for now he had to complete his mission.


	7. Chapter 7

About an hour after Foggy had left Matt went outside in his Daredevil suit and he walked down the streets of Hell's Kitchen in search of the man who had exposed him. In his current state of mind he was like a dangerous presence instead of the symbol of hope he used to be associated as by the residents. Even the most accepting and kindhearted people now reacted to him in fear instead of in admiration. Matt didn't pay attention to them. It was probably because they found out who he really was.

Time seemed to drag on for him as he continued to search for this man but he could not find him. He had googled his name up online and found out that he was rather famous for his convenience store business in New York. When Matt did some more digging he also found out that the owner had gained more money for his latest t-shirts much to Matt's disgust. Instead of spending a few weeks trying to follow him to get a sense of places he usually goes where he might hope to ambush him he decided he couldn't afford to wait that long and went onto his Facebook page via a link on his website. Harry's profile could be viewed by anyone and he sometimes posted a status saying places he might be going to that day. Not a good idea for safety but helpful for Matt. It was Matt's lucky day as he said that tonight he would be in Hell's Kitchen.

Matt felt himself growing more and more impatient and despite still feeling that rage inside him he began to feel he should give up. Maybe he would have to spend a few weeks looking for him after all.

All of a sudden his ears began to twitch as his super powered hearing began to pick up on a conversation which was happening a few streets away from where he was standing. He began to listen in.

"...shipping more of these here tomorrow." a voice said.

"Great. We will have those t-shirts put in containers and then we can began selling more of them. They are running out really quickly." Another voice said.

T-shirts? As soon as Matt heard that trigger word he clenched his fists.

"Well they are popular and no wonder." The first voice chuckled.

"You should be delighted Harry. These t-shirts were your greatest idea yet. I wonder if the man himself will appreciate them too." The second voice continued.

"Oh he would be glad of the attention i'm sure." The first voice who turned out to be Harry said. "I should start making some for the Avengers. I had to start with him though because he is my favourite."

"I understand." The second voice replied. "The name suits him don't you think? He really is a Daredevil."

Harry and the other guy both laughed and then the other guy's footsteps walking away signalled that he was leaving.

Matt felt his head pounding at an alarmingly fast rate. It was like there was a hammer banging on the inside of his skull.

Only about 10 seconds after the second man had left Matt felt his self control slipping away as he pounced on Harry.

"I'm your favourite am I?" Matt sneered at Harry as he grabbed both of the man's legs in a firm grip. "It's sad that you would expose someone you really admired just for a few dollars."

Harry was trying not to yell as Matt was inches away from breaking his legs. He seemed unable to answer either because of the pain or because he was so stunned to see him there.

"ANSWER ME!" Matt screeched at him. "ANSWER ME OR I SWEAR I WILL BREAK YOUR GOD DAMN LEGS!"

"I-I don't understand why you are so mad." Harry finally answered hesitantly. Matt could hear his heart pounding at the same speed as his head.

"Just stop selling the t-shirts." Matt pleaded. "Please stop selling them and I will let you go. You won't have to suffer my madness."

"I'm afraid I can't." Harry sighed. "It's bringing in a lot of money."

Sadly this statement only succeeded in unleashing Matt's anger to its fullest potential.

Matt could hear a combination of bones cracking and Harry's high pitched scream ringing in his ears as he broke both of his legs.

As he walked away from the scene he began to feel a bit dizzy.

"I should go home. I must go home." He kept thinking over and over again to give himself a task as the banging in his head continued. However as he was walking towards the destination of his apartment and was in public he began to sense something.

"No." Matt muttered. He shook his head as he began to turn another corner and he went down another street.

He sensed the same thing.

"No no." Matt muttered again. He turned another corner.

He sensed the same thing for a third time.

Matt could feel his life crumbling in front of him as he stood there.

 _Everyone in Hell's Kitchen was wearing the t-shirt._

Matt lost control and everything after that was a blur.

He had a vague memory of punching many people just before he lost consciousness as his body collapsed on the side of the street.


	8. Chapter 8

"Well he looks like he's been through a lot of shit." Matt heard a voice say as he felt himself slowly waking up again. He couldn't tell where the voice was coming from or who the voice belonged to.

"Is he going to be okay?" He heard another voice say.

"I'm not sure. After seeing the news last night i don't know what to expect." Only after years of listening to it Matt was able to recognise it as Foggy's voice.

"He won't attack us will he? I mean he knows us." He vaguely recognised this voice as Karen's. Matt then began to hear her heart beating. She was scared of him.

"Karen." Matt muttered weakly. He groaned as he found himself still too dizzy to move.

"It looks like he's awake. We should help him up." Matt recognised the last voice as Claire's.

Foggy, Karen and Claire had found him.

Matt groaned a little more but he let them lift him as he felt he was in no place to object. He continued to hear them talking as they took him to his apartment. It sounded like they were very worried about him. This also worried Matt when he realised why. What happened to him last night?

Matt finally heard Foggy turn the key to his apartment door he had given him after he had found out he was Daredevil incase of an emergency and he sighed as they gently placed him down onto his leather sofa.

"Where's your laptop Matt?" Foggy asked as Matt sensed he was standing in front of him.

"I don't have one anymore." Matt managed to say.

"Oh I didn't know that." Foggy replied awkwardly. He then sounded stern. "Because I was going to let you listen to what the whole of Hell's Kitchen heard on the news last night after you went nuts and started punching the hell out of random citizens."

"This has to stop Matt." Claire said firmly. "Whatever it is that's wrong with you we can help. But you are endangering everyone around you."

Matt felt sick as he realised what they were talking about. The truth of what he had done started to come to him.

"Everyone in Hell's Kitchen was wearing those t-shirts and I just flipped. I know now I shouldn't have tried to hurt people." Matt said quietly.

"Matt. There is no t-shirt that says Matt Murdock is Daredevil." Foggy said trying to reason with him. "I know you think that but there isn't. There's obviously something wrong with you."

"Don't start this again Foggy." Matt heard himself snap. "I'm aware that I have some kind of bad anger issues but don't you dare tell me i'm making it up."

"See I told you he would respond like this." Matt heard Foggy tell the other two. He growled but decided to ignore him.

"I remember when I was about to be attacked and you came in your old black outfit and saved me." Matt heard Karen say to him in a sincere tone. "This man who is hurting random citizens. He is not you. You've became the man you hate."

"I don't know how to stop it." Matt muttered. "Maybe this will go away once I stop the t-shirts being sold." He knew they meant well but they couldn't let them stop him from his mission.

"We can't let you do that Matt." Foggy said sadly.

"You're going to have to." Matt said and he stood up. He automatically felt dizzy again but he didn't care. "I need to finish this and i'm not going to let anyone stop me."

He went to his apartment door despite still feeling light headed but he suddenly felt something hit him and he fell down onto the ground.

"We're really sorry but it's for the best." He heard Claire sigh as to his horror he heard Foggy, Claire and Karen going over to the door. He tried to get up to stop them but his body wouldn't let him. He yelled in protest as he heard Foggy locking the door from the outside. However it was useless. There was nothing he could do. They had locked him inside his own apartment.


	9. Chapter 9

After about 15 minutes of not being able to move Matt slowly picked himself up from the floor. He groaned as it took all of his effort and he used his radar sense to try and find a way out. He realised there was another door they had forgotten to lock. Matt slowly went over to the other door in his apartment and went to pull it open. He was about to smile in satisfaction but then to his dismay he realised this door was locked as well. Matt sighed. Damn it Foggy.

Matt used his radar sense again and he figured out that the only way out of his apartment without using doors was the window. However he didn't have a key for it. How could he get out of the window without a key? He would have to use something to smash it open with force.

Matt navigated the room and thanked God that he had special senses otherwise he would be too blind to find anything. Eventually he settled on the small table which he kept small items such as salt and paper on. With his remaining strength which was powered by his determination he threw the small table at the window. He winced as his sensitive hearing made the smashing of the glass sound as major as an earthquake. At least had a way out now.

When Matt eventually landed on the ground his mind was immediately set on finding out where these t-shirts were being sold. He had no idea where but he had a gut feeling they were being sold at the docks. His head began to pound and with every step he was taking he began to feel more and more unhinged. Matt tried his best to fight it. He knew he couldn't let this feeling inside him win again.

The feeling was getting harder and harder for Matt to fight as he began to reach the docks. He clenched his fists tightly to try and slow down his descent. However when he was nearly there he recognised a voice which made him stop in his tracks.

Fisk.

Matt hid behind one of the cargo boxes in half a second but he was still in shock. He felt his hand going to his mouth and his heart was beginning to beat rapidly.

"It can't be." Matt muttered to himself as quietly as possible. "I can't believe he's involved in this."

"He'll be coming shortly." He heard Fisk saying to someone in that commanding tone which Matt always hated. "He'll know what i've done to him but he won't be able to stop it."

At that Matt leaped out of the shadows and faced him.

"I told you he would be here." Fisk said brightly and then he sounded more dark. "We meet again Daredevil."

"It was you who was selling the t-shirts wasn't it?" Matt said angrily and he took a step closer to him. "It was you all along. You set me up."

"What t-shirts?" Fisk said in a mocking voice. "The t-shirts that said Daredevil on it? Oh that's right you wouldn't know that."

Matt felt himself starting to shake. Fisk was lying to him as well? None of this made any sense. "What are you talking about?"

"The t-shirts never said Matt Murdock is Daredevil. The drug made you think that. It seems to have worked as well as I hoped." Fisk replied sounding satisfied.

"Fisk what the hell are you talking about? What have you done to me?" Matt demanded. His heart began to pound again as he felt confusion.

"One night last week we were fighting over something. You probably won't remember what it was because it made you forget those couple of days before." Fisk started to explain. "When your back was turned I injected you with a special drug."

The realisation of what had been wrong with him during the past week began to hit Matt all at once. He was going mad but there had been a reason.

"What does this drug do?" Matt managed to ask even though he wasn't sure if he wanted to know. But it would help him to figure out why he had been acting like this.

"The drug enhances the brain chemicals that make you angry. I knew this had worked when I saw how you had attacked all those innocent people on the news yesterday." Matt could practically hear Fisk's smug smile as he relished in the glory of ruining his life. "It also makes you see or feel things which aren't there which will make you angry. In your instance the Matt Murdock is Daredevil t-shirt. Along with giving you adrenaline to increase anger."

Matt could have said many things to Fisk as he felt himself crumbling away in front of him as he realised he had made him fuck up big time. He couldn't even imagine how he could get out of this. How Foggy, Karen and Claire had been right all along. He had began to turn into the image of a criminal. An image of the kind of person he hated. The public now despised him. All for something which doesn't even exist.

But instead he said. "You know i'm Matt Murdock?"

"I have known you were Matt Murdock ever since prison. I had done some research." Matt felt sick as he heard that satisfied tone in his voice once again. "I had hoped you would find something and the drug in your blood would make you feel something like that."

"I'm going to fight you." Matt said boldly. This was it. He had to take this motherfucker down. "I'm going to make you pay for ruining everything I have worked for."

Fisk chuckled in amusement. "No you won't. Those drugs in you might make you more mad at me than you ever thought was possible. You might end up killing me and you wouldn't want to do that. Isn't that your golden rule?"

Matt realised he was right.

"And there is an antidote to your problem but I have it and only I know where it is." Fisk added.

He was already walking away like he had won. But if Matt went to fight him then he may end up doing something he would regret. Matt began to feel frustrated as he realised the difficult position that Fisk had put him in.

"I hate you." Matt growled at him as he heard his footsteps walking further and further away from him. "I fucking hate you."

Fisk simply replied. "I know."


	10. Chapter 10

That night Matt went to Foggy's door and he knocked on it gently. He heard it squeak open slightly as Foggy appeared in front of him.

"Foggy I know what's wrong with me now." Matt started to explain to him.

"Well thank God for that." Foggy sighed. Matt sensed that his hand was moving to usher him in. "Come in and explain to us."

"Us?" Matt asked a little confused. He then heard the familiar heartbeats of Claire and Karen who must be inside.

"Karen and Claire are here too. We've been sitting here in my house for the past 4 hours trying to figure out how to help you." Foggy said in a concerned tone.

Matt didn't know what came over him but he suddenly felt a little touched that they cared about him. People were willing to stand by him even after he turned into a monster.

"Do you guys really care about me?" Matt asked shyly. Foggy came over to him and he put a firm hand on his shoulder.

"Just because we don't work in the same law firm anymore doesn't mean I don't care about you Murdock. We're still best buds remember?" Foggy said lightly and then Matt sensed him beginning to smile. "I mean even though we argue all the time ever since I found out you were dressed as a devil beating bad guys up."

Matt laughed and Foggy guided him to his slightly old and squishy sofa. He sensed Claire and Karen moving along to make room for him.

"Don't bother asking us both if we care about you because we do." Claire stated before Matt could even open his mouth which made him laugh again. It felt good for him to laugh. He needed to feel some joy in his life after the hell he had been through.

He then began to speak. "Before I explain I would like to say I am really sorry if I have hurt any of you and I realise now I wasn't acting like myself because there was something injected into me. I know that shouldn't excuse anything but I hope you can all accept my apology."

"I accept your apology." Foggy announced.

"I also accept your apology." Claire added.

"I accept your apology." Karen said. She then began to talk further. "But Matt there was something wrong with you. You shouldn't blame yourself for this at all."

"I feel like I should." Matt said quietly. He couldn't shake the feeling he was still responsible for this even if he was under the influence of something. It was him who had done these things with his own bare hands.

This only made Karen want to prove her point. "No you shouldn't. If anything we can blame Fisk because he was the one who did this to you."

"Hmm okay." Matt said in a tone which suggested he didn't really agree with her. However Karen didn't reply which meant she wanted him to continue with what he was going to say.

"Fisk told me that me and him had been fighting over something one day last week which I can't remember because the drug he used on me made me forget." Matt explained to them. "He had injected me with it when my back was turned."

"What exactly does this drug do?" Foggy asked.

Matt sighed as he realised he was going to have to tell them. "The drug enhances the brain chemicals that make you angry. It also makes you see or feel things that aren't there which will make you angry which explains why I thought there was a t-shirt which said Matt Murdock is Daredevil instead of just Daredevil. The drug also gives you adrenaline which increases anger."

"Holy shit." Claire muttered. He could sense the other two having similar reactions.

Matt ended his explanation awkwardly. "Yeah so that's why I have been acting bat shit crazy."

"Fisk is a son of a bitch." Karen said angrily. "If we were all kick ass crime fighters then I would suggest we should all go and beat him up."

"I agree with you there." Foggy replied. "But we can't. Only Matt can."

"That's the thing." Matt sighed again. "I can't fight him with this drug inside me because I may end up killing him which is not what I want to do. He said he had an antidote but obviously

he won't tell me where it is."

"You will need to find it then." Claire said urgently. "We can all come up with a plan."

He could sense Foggy and Karen nodding in agreement. Matt still couldn't believe these people wanted to help him after all that had happened.

Matt smirked good naturedly. "You will find it's a great honour helping the great devil of Hell's Kitchen."

"Don't get too cocky now." Claire replied jokingly and she punched him lightly on the shoulder.

Matt responded by giving a fake groan in pain which made them all laugh.

"I don't mean to darken the mood again but Matt there's a serious consequence to what you have done because of this drug." Foggy suddenly said in a serious tone.

Matt stopped laughing as he sensed this was bad.

"We may forgive you but the good people of Hell's Kitchen will never trust you again." Foggy continued. "They will look at you now in fear and run away because of your changed scary attitude around them. I'm not saying this because I disagree with what you do but because I don't think it will make a difference anymore."

"You want me to give up being Daredevil." Matt finished. He knew Foggy was going to say this when he started talking.

"I'm so sorry it's come to this Matt." Foggy said and he sounded like he was about to cry. "I really am."

Claire and Karen's heartbeats rose as they both waited for him to react angrily. To punch walls. To yell at Foggy until he was blue in the face that he was wrong. That he could never give up being the protector of Hell's Kitchen. That it was his job now and he had a duty to save people from crime.

But even though only the mere thought of giving up being Daredevil, this symbol of hope for the residents of New York and the true side of him, killed him inside he knew it was the right thing to do.

"I'll hang up my horns." Matt stated. It even killed him to say it but he quickly went on. "After I take down Fisk once and for all."

Claire, Karen and Foggy nodded and they all began to discuss a plan of how to find where Fisk was keeping the antidote without him knowing. They knew not to talk anymore about the decision because they knew how it was hurting him.

Matt knew there was only one thing he could do now. Find the antidote and end this with the most important and final showdown of his life and his career as Daredevil and make Fisk pay.


	11. Chapter 11

Matt had been listening for half an hour with his enhanced hearing in a hidden part outside the warehouse where he had worked out that Fisk might be. He planned to wait until Fisk left the building and ambush the guards which were in and outside. Claire had given him a pill that was meant to slow him down so he wouldn't go too far and possibly kill any of them. It had also helped him to get rid of some of his adrenaline fuelled anger. Sadly it was only temporary. He couldn't wait until he used the antidote to finally rid himself of this horrible drug. He only wished to take down Fisk his own way. The Daredevil way.

Matt's ears picked up on something being said outside and he began to concentrate. A guard from the inside had came outside to talk with one of the guards from the outside.

"Fisk is going to be leaving the building in a moment. You will all need to be on high alert incase anything approaches." One of the inside guards said to an outside guard sternly. He then lowered his voice. "Especially of a man dressed in a devil costume."

Matt heard the sound of the door creak open and the sound of the man he despised's footsteps ringing in his ears. They sounded fainter and fainter as he walked further and further away from the building. He then heard the door close dramatically behind him.

Matt waited a few minutes afterwards and then he smiled to himself. Those guards may be on high alert but they didn't know what they were dealing with.

Before the two outside guards had any time to react Matt threw his sticks which he had decided to take instead of his billy club at full force and each one managed to knock a guard out. He then dragged them both to the side of the building. Outside down and now inside to go.

To his dismay the inside guards seemed to react to his arrival even though he had entered the building silently. One of the guards tried to take a swing at him and Matt threw them to the ground. Another guard ran up to him and he threw a stick which knocked them out. The guard on the ground had managed to punch him when he was distracted but Matt anticipated when the next blow would come and before another punch could hit him he backflipped into the air and kicked them down.

He managed to hilariously send the last two guards on a chase after him as he made things in the warehouse shake and then disappeared back into the shadows. Finally he hid for a very long time and he could hear the heartbeats of the two guards beginning to beat very quickly in fear. Just when they guessed he wouldn't appear near where they were standing he threw his two sticks at them and each hit a guard on the back of the head. They fell to the ground with a thud which echoed around the room.

Matt stood still for a moment to make sure he had only knocked them out and they would be breathing again then he went in search of the antidote. He used his radar sense ability to try and locate its whereabouts. He eventually found it in a little box hidden away in a back corner.

Matt laughed as he realised Fisk had made it so easy to open. Maybe he thought his guards were that good he didn't need any security measures.

He winced a little as he injected himself with the liquid inside the syringe but only a few seconds later he began to feel calmer. Matt sighed with relief. At least that hell was finally over.

Or was it?

He must have been distracted by the joy of getting rid of the drug in his blood stream that even his super senses didn't pick up the sound of the doors opening.

"You may be free from that but it doesn't mean you will get away easily Murdock." Matt actually jumped as he heard Fisk's voice booming. The syringe he was holding fell to the ground and smashed.

"Fisk." Matt spat with full hatred. He took a step closer to him.

"How does it feel knowing that everyone hates you in this city?" Fisk taunted. "Those people you worked so hard to protect now fear you."

"At least they will be free from you." Matt replied scornfully.

"If you put me in jail I could just escape later and begin the whole cycle all over again." Fisk continued to taunt him. "There's no way of getting rid of me unless you kill me. And we both know you aren't going to do that."

"I know. However people never give up fighting for the greater good." Matt stated. he began to step closer and closer to him until they were only inches apart. He faced him and said in a tone which had a certain clarity. "You may have ruined my life. I may not be able to make a difference anymore. But there will always be another me. There will always be another hero to take you down. Because there's more people like me out there who will be willing to stand up for the weak. People may fear me. They may not trust me anymore. But there will be others to help them. I'm willing to bet you're still going to have a hard time with me gone."

There was a silence as the two of them just stood there directly facing each other. Finally Fisk broke it.

"Are you still going to fight me, Daredevil?" He asked in a challenging way.

Matt gave the biggest smile he had probably ever given in his life.

"Of course i'm still going to fight you." Matt smirked.

And at that Matt fought Fisk with full force. His punches were so strong and he flipped around with such precision that he could have been part of the Olympics. He dodged Fisk's punishes effortlessly most of the time but when he got hit badly he groaned but got himself back up quickly. Eventually after a long battle Matt ended it by jumping high into the air and punching his head symbolically like their first battle when he won which seemed like centuries ago.

Matt continued to hear Fisk's heart beating while panting as he walked out of the warehouse. It had a sense of finality to it. He finally knew that his work here was done.

 _One week later_

When Matt was carrying his red Daredevil costume over to the trash which had taken him a while to work up the courage to do his senses told him there was something lying on the ground. He slowly went over and he picked it up. When he felt the words he began to shake as he suddenly felt the full weight and turmoil of what he was about to do and what had happened crashing down on him. He began to let out his emotions. He started to sob uncontrollably as he held the t-shirt in his hand. Wet tears ran down his cheeks.

The t-shirt said " _Daredevil_."


End file.
